Comet Technologies software empowers citizen journalists

Comet Technologies is now offering its new Comet Citizen Journalist, a software package that makes it easier for TV newsrooms to work with non-professional reporters by allowing them to transmit real-time, live streaming video as well as still images from their cell phones to the station.

Stations can provide the new software package to viewers via download directly onto their cell phones. From there, studio personnel can manage multiple video streams and immediately decide what news goes live to air, live to the Web or is made available for later online access. The software also provides for automatic upload of citizen journalists’ still images to the station's Web site.

The Society of Professional Journalists will conduct seminars in Chicago, Los Angeles and Greensboro, NC, over the next two months to equip citizen journalists with basic reporting knowledge and a sense of journalism ethics.

by Paul Kaminski ~ April 26, 2006 NAB DAILY NEWS In the minutes and hours after the London subway bombings in July 2005, the BBC television news department received 20,000 e-mails containing thousands of images, and some 3,000 text messages from those on the scene. This is the kind of power that t